This Time
by Flawless Beauti
Summary: Draco wonders what would have happened if he were raised better. He decides to find out. [DH compliant.]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story. They are owned by Rowling, and I only play.**

**A/N: **Fourteen words over my 500 word limit I gave myself, but I couldn't find anything I considered "extra" to remove. Just an idea I toyed with that I couldn't be bothered to flesh out into a real one-shot or a chapter story.

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"I still don't think this will work." Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes as he straightened the green and silver tie of his son, ignoring the curious looks they were getting. "Of course it will." The young boy huffed softly but let the subject die, causing Draco to smile fondly and smooth his hair.

"Remember what I told you?" Grey eyes so much like his own rolled as the young man nodded. "Yes for the last time. Merlin but you're annoying." Draco thumped him absently on the head and the child fell into a sulk. "Now, let's try this again. Remember what I told you?" Another eye roll but he opened his mouth so Draco let it slide.

"Do not be an arsehole. Do not be obnoxious. Do not flaunt my money. Do not be mean to red haired people, even if they are poor and loud and red. Be extra nice to Harry Potter, because he is a nice person and deserves it."

Draco gave a soft smile and nodded. "Remember, I'll be waiting for you at home. This is important, so try to remember _only _what I taught you." The young boy looked confused. "What else would I know but what you taught?"

Draco shook his head, smiling softly, and ushered him onto the waiting train. Draco waved softly as the train pulled out of view, and gave a quiet sigh. "Bye Draco," he murmured quietly, fingering the Time Turner under his robes.

_The Dark Mark stood out sharply against his pale skin, and Draco hated it. He hated his father for not raising him __right, and his mother for always being a shadow in his life. If he had better influences maybe things would have been better._

_Maybe he wouldn't have made childish decisions to please the wraiths he called parents. Maybe he wouldn't be in a loveless marriage with a child that reminded him of his father in attitude, something his wife only encouraged. Maybe he wouldn't read the Prophet, feeling the same pang at the sight of Potter and his wife and their three children that constantly graced the covers._

_He hated his life. He hated his wife and his son and his friends that had learned to fade away as he had. Maybe if he had been stronger, he could have given them strength too. If he could go back…. And suddenly he realized he could. He had a low level job at the Ministry after all. He snuck the Time Turner out and used it that night. _

_When he watched his father and mother fall down the stairs he felt a sick sense of glee and stared for a long moment, finally following the soft noises. Inside the crib there was a child with hair so fine he looked bald. Draco smiled softly and picked himself up, clutching him to his chest. "This time, things will be different," he murmured. He would see to it._

Draco Malfoy flooed home, gave a soft smile at the toys strewn about, and sent the Time Turner smashing on the marble floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco glanced from his sons' energetic face to the clock and idly wondered how long he could talk before he needed to breathe. "-and then Harry Potter caught the snitch right out from under that stupid Ravenclaw's nose and she looked ready to spit she was so angry!

She threw down her broom and stomped off and Harry snuck me into the Tower for the party [he has an invisibility cloak dad!] and it was red but really not so bad otherwise." His son paused to take a breath, causing Draco to take a breath out of sheer relief, before launching into a play by play description of Gryffindor Tower and everything he had gotten up to. Draco sipped at his tea, making appropriate noises as he went and hiding his smile.

It was his sons second year at Hogwarts and already he was getting into far more trouble than Draco had at his age, while at the same time keeping Harry from making the same mistakes twice. Thanks to his son Harry had known it wasn't Severus stealing the Stone, and Quirrell had been caught with much less trouble than Draco remembered reading about.

The diary had been handed over to the Headmaster, therefore securing the Basilisk was no trouble, and Draco was pulling strings left and right behind the scenes to help his son glide through Hogwarts and proving himself a valuable member on the side of Light in the fight to take down the Dark Lord.

"So can he Dad?" Draco zoned back in swiftly. "Could you please rephrase the question?" His son sighed. "Harry, dad. He says his relatives are horrible. Can he stay here?" Draco closed his eyes and thanked every deity he knew for childish innocence. "What does the Headmaster say?" His son made a face and Draco smiled softly in agreement.

"Something about blood protection but our wards are better and he knows it. Harry has been arguing with him all semester." Draco hummed softly. "Maybe he could come for the last bit of summer so we can discuss legal grounds." His son grinned, and he felt a quiet pang at the sight. His son smiled a lot, though when Draco attempted it in the mirror it came out a grimace and caused the mirror to shriek horribly.

There were times, he thought after he had the smaller boy in bed, where he wondered if he had done the right thing. Messing with time was tricky business, and he was changing quite a bit. Then he remembered the shy smile Harry had directed at him as he had picked up his son from the train, and the way the Manor was full of light and childish laughter so unlike his own childhood memories.

He sat before the mirror, maroon robe seeming to flicker in the torch light, and stared at himself. The same high cheekbones and sharp features but he looked much less gaunt than he remembered, and he had slight wrinkles in the corner of each eye. No, he thought quietly, pulling the paperwork Albus had given him at the station towards him. This had been the right decision.


End file.
